Arts and love: The time Italian couples spend on cultural activities

We exploit time-use data to investigate Italian couples’ arts participation at joint vs. individual level of partners. By using the most recent available diary data on individual time use in Italian households (ISTAT, 2002-03), we distinguish between arts attendance (going to theater, visiting a museum, etc.) and amateur arts practices (playing music, painting, etc.). The main results show the importance of togetherness in the amount of time that couples spend on arts activities, suggesting rewarding and coordination effects. Spouses’ reciprocal influence is also taken into consideration. We highlight a social role of wives especially in joint arts attendance, and an inner role of husbands in favoring wives’ individual arts activities and arts practices. Furthermore, the latter is associated with couples’ higher levels of wellbeing. Overall, time allocated to arts attendance reveals distinct socio-economic patterns with respect to arts practices.